A complete reference guide to modern Dutch grammar, presenting a fresh and accessible description of the language.
Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars)
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'It will be indispensable for all English-speaking serious students of the Dutch language.' - Signpost, April 2000
'I have long sought a book which was able to clearly, though not necessarily simply, describe the Dutch language in a logical and comprehensible manner.' Amazon.co.uk reviewer
'An excellent reference grammar with clear explanations that do not require an in-depth understanding of generic grammatical terms.' Amazon.com reviewer
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.From the Back Cover
Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to modern Dutch grammar.
It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Dutch. The book will be the standard reference work for years to come.
This Grammar is an essential reference source for the learner and user of Dutch, irrespective of level. It is ideal for use in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types.
The volume is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Dutch grammar. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, and provides full and clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on Dutch as used by present-day native speakers.
An extensive index and numbered paragraphs provide readers with easy access to the information they require. Features include:
* Detailed treatment of the common grammatical structures and parts of speech
* Extensive exemplification
* Particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty
* Dutch-English parallels highlighted throughout the book
Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By P. Backhurst
Format:Paperback
Of all the Dutch-language-learning books available today, most of which are fairly basic and/or badly set out with respect to grammar comprehension, this is by far the best. It is written by a man who has a thorough knowledge of modern Dutch, but also a clear understanding of its linguistical history, by which he is able to explain archaisms and anomalies still extant in modern spoken Dutch. Tricky areas of Dutch, such as co-ordinating and subordinate clause word order, are clearly explained, and truly difficult aspects such as the particle "er" are made almost quite simple - I have struggled through many books to understand this in particular. It should be noted, however, that this is a grammar book, and not an exercise or phrase book; he also expects a rudimentary understanding of grammatical terms, but by doing so he doesn't need to waste time by explaining terminology, instead he gets to grips with the grammar. His explanations of Dutch prepositions, adjectival suffixes, and verbal prefixes (both fixed and movable) are clarity itself. I have long sought for a book which was able to clearly, though not necessarily simply, describe the Dutch language in a logical and comprehensible manner. Where phrase books, and learn-in-three-months books, have better information on vocabulary, and offer you phrases to suit the situation, it takes a book as good as this to really help you make sense of the language, so taking us out of the role of a parrot, to a comprehending user of Dutch.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Bruce Donaldson's book is definitely the best detailed Dutch grammar on the market; he leads the way in a field dominated by books for beginners, and this book is essential for anyone wanting to extend beyond the most basic level of Dutch. However, it's not perfect: modal particles, a key part of spoken Dutch in particular, are not treated in this book. I also find that the section on modal verbs is not as clearly explained as I would like. On the whole, though, this is well worth the cost.
By merguezz
Format:Paperback
Comprehensive by title and indeed it is: there's enough here for those, beginners or experts, who have any degree of interest in Dutch and wish to know the finer points of either the Netherlands or the Belgian version of the language. It's difficult to imagine a future author having the stamina to write a more thorough account of Dutch grammar or to gather such a range of examples to illustrate the grammatical points in use - and what would be the point, as Donaldson has already got there first. Accessibly written - although you'll need to be acquainted with English grammatical terms before you start - and attractively laid-out, this work is beyond doubt a classic in its field.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Dutch, a comprehensive grammar
well structured and clear, but not as comprehensive as the title suggests. For example, I was looking for a clear description of the rules of adding in letters like -n- or -s- in... Read more
Published on 8 April 2011 by anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars
An answer to prayers!
I'm a self taught beginner and this is an answer to my prayers! I'm not in any position to comment on whether everything is covered but what I AM able to comment on is its... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2011 by Listener
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